Election Roundup

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This article was published 02/04/2011 (5490 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Voters say yes to coalition

OTTAWA — More than half of Canadians would prefer a Liberal-NDP coalition to a Harper majority government, results of a poll for Postmedia News suggest.

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper launched his campaign with a clear message: Coalitions are unstable and will derail the economy. But Canadians don’t appear to be too nervous: 54 per cent of those polled said they would favour a Liberal-NDP blend to a Harper majority.

However, when the Bloc Québécois is thrown into the coalition mix, support drops to 50 per cent. A Harper majority takes the other 50 per cent.

“It’s a polarizing issue, but in a way that can work in favour of the Conservatives,” said Darrell Bricker, CEO of Ipsos-Reid, which conducted the poll. “This is an argument that divides the population in a way the Conservatives need to have it divided.”

With support for a full Liberal-NDP-Bloc coalition split down the middle, Harper could get his elusive majority government, Bricker said.

Despite Harper’s attempts to paint the concept of a coalition as irresponsible, he hasn’t turned enough Canadians off the idea to guarantee a majority at this point.

Bricker said it’s time Harper started talking about policy and issues.

The poll was conducted March 29 to March 31. A sample of 1,070 adults from an Ipsos panel were interviewed online.

Layton over Ignatieff: poll

OTTAWA — If Canadians find themselves being governed by a Liberal-NDP-Bloc Québécois coalition following the May election, they want to see NDP Leader Jack Layton become prime minister, a new poll suggests.

Only 27 per cent of the poll’s respondents said they’d want Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff to be top dog, compared with 14 per cent who support Bloc leader Gilles Duceppe and 59 per cent who chose Layton.

“It really speaks to the depth of the challenge Ignatieff has,” said Darrell Bricker, CEO of Ipsos-Reid, which conducted the poll.

Ignatieff is facing a very steep hill, where he’s faced with a short amount of time to try to change public opinion of him — most of which has been based on information coming from Conservative attack ads, Bricker said.

When asked who they trust most with managing the economy, 47 per cent of respondents said they trust the Conservatives, compared with 23 per cent for each the Liberals and the NDP, and seven per cent for the Bloc.

Harper was also the front-runner when Canadians (39 per cent) were asked who they trust to provide an open, responsible and ethical government.

Layton and the NDP were close behind with 34 per cent. Ignatieff was down at 19 per cent, and the Bloc at nine per cent.

Call him ‘Iggy,’ he’s fine with it

LONDON, Ont. — Michael Ignatieff gets called a lot of things — but one thing he doesn’t mind is his nickname, “Iggy.”

The Liberal leader says the name has stuck with him since childhood.

“Oh, people have been calling me Iggy since I was a kid,” he says.

“I think it’s kind of nice, actually. I don’t have a problem with it at all.”

— from the wire services